Chapter 400: Chapter 400: Blue Scale Shrimp

Melody Summers dodged the eels writhing frantically on the deck. She picked up a small shovel she’d prepared earlier and began to sift through the mountain of seafood.

The largest portion of this catch was made up of various shrimp, such as akiami paste shrimp, deep-water scampi, and scarlet shrimp. They were much larger than the ones Melody had caught in the shallows before; some of the scarlet shrimp were even as long as her calf!

All the shrimp had vibrant red shells, especially the scarlet shrimp. Their brilliant red color was like a rich ruby.

In addition to the shrimp, some of the fish were also a brilliant red.

For example, thornyheads and blackbelly rosefish looked like burning flames, their entire bodies a vibrant, tomato-red.

These two types of fish were species found only in the deep sea, living in its high-pressure, low-temperature, and dark environment. Melody had never seen them when she fished in the shallows.

In addition, there were many other fish Melody had caught for the first time, such as the shimmering silver tilefish and the aptly named greeneye fish... These were all new species she had never seen in the shallows.

To Melody’s astonishment, she had actually caught a massive bluefin tuna this time!

The bluefin tuna had a deep, silver-black body. It was enormous, with sleek lines like a torpedo, and its flesh looked incredibly firm.

Melody Summers carefully stroked the bluefin tuna’s back, marveling, "This fish must be at least two hundred pounds..."

Nearby, White pawed at the tuna’s tail a few times. The tuna seemed displeased, and its tail suddenly whipped around, slapping against the deck with a loud THWACK, THWACK.

Now Melody was even more stunned!

She blurted out, "It’s still alive! Aren’t these fish supposed to die as soon as they’re brought on board?!"

Tuna are one of the ocean’s most formidable predators. They have a unique respiratory system that requires them to swim constantly, forcing water over their gills to get oxygen. That’s why they usually die the moment they leave the water.

Yet this one was still alive. Melody once again marveled at the wonders of the Arcadian Space. ’Even the tuna it produces are this vigorous!’

There was no time to waste. While the fish was still alive, Melody rolled up her sleeves and started sorting out the order for The Nimbus Hotel.

Melody’s collaboration with The Nimbus Hotel had been going very smoothly. Plus, Carter Jennings had helped her out of a tight spot before, so she wanted to show her gratitude. She packed the bluefin tuna directly into the shipping container, adding a few extra king crabs as well.

After shipping The Nimbus Hotel’s order, Melody looked at the seafood left on the deck. She then scrolled through her message list and started contacting the hotels that had previously expressed interest in placing an order.

Due to the widespread power outages and network failures, many out-of-province hotels were now unreachable.

Melody scrolled for a bit and finally found two hotels she could still reach: The Grand Karn Hotel in Kanton and The Solara Hotel in Lyndell.

After some negotiations, Melody supplied The Grand Karn Hotel with 2,200 pounds of seafood for a payment of 30 million. She then supplied The Solara Hotel with 1,100 pounds of seafood for 15 million.

In just half a day, she had effortlessly raked in a small fortune.

After shipping those two orders, there were still a few hundred pounds of seafood left on the deck. Melody decided to list the remainder, along with the dozens of live king crabs, on her shop.

[FRESHLY CAUGHT! FROM THE NET TO YOUR DOOR! PREMIUM KING CRAB, 2 MILLION EACH, INCLUDES A FREE 10-POUND SEAFOOD MYSTERY BOX!]

[ALL CAUGHT TODAY! GUARANTEED FRESH, LIVE, AND TOP QUALITY!]

[Please open your balcony window 10 minutes after payment. We will use a drone to airdrop your order onto the balcony. If all your windows have security bars, we will deliver directly to your front door. Please retrieve your package promptly. We are not liable for lost or stolen items.]

Once she finished editing the product listing, she immediately posted it.

They say even a royal feast pales in comparison to a single bite of king crab.

Perhaps the temptation of king crab was too great, or perhaps customers were just eagerly awaiting a restock from The Arcadia Shop. Either way, the dozens of king crabs sold out almost instantly.

Immediately, Melody’s inbox was flooded with notifications. It was a chorus of lament from customers who had missed out, all of them begging her to restock.

The sheer volume of messages made her phone lag. Annoyed, she switched it to airplane mode to block the flood of notifications, rolled up her sleeves, and focused on packing the orders.

The larger fish had already been picked out for the three hotels, leaving only small fish and bright red shrimp on the deck.

Melody used a small shovel to scoop up the fish and shrimp, gave them a quick rinse, and packed them into shipping boxes.

Halfway through packing, Melody noticed a white conch shell mixed in with the fish and shrimp.

The conch was quite large—Melody had to use both hands to pick it up. Its snow-white shell stood out starkly against the sea of brilliant red fish and shrimp.

Melody picked up the large conch, muttering to herself, "...How did a conch get in here? Don’t these things usually live in shallow waters..."

As Melody was examining the conch in confusion, something suddenly shot out of it with a soft POP, landing on the front of her shirt.

"Ah!"

Caught completely off guard, Melody jumped back in fright. She took two steps back instinctively, and the thing fell from her shirt onto the deck.

She bent down to get a closer look and realized the thing that had jumped out was a shrimp!

Unlike common gray or red shrimp, this one was a brilliant indigo blue. It was small and delicate, about the size of her index finger.

Melody had never seen a shrimp this color. She couldn’t help but step closer to get a better look. Its shell was covered in scale-like, aquamarine patterns that seemed to shift in the sunlight, emitting a faint, blue-green glow.

Staring at the shrimp, which looked like an exquisite work of art, Melody marveled, "What kind of shrimp is this? It’s gorgeous!"

She couldn’t resist reaching out to touch it, but her hand froze just before it made contact with the shell—

It was common knowledge that in nature, blue often meant poison—especially when it came to creatures from the sea.

Take the infamous blue-ringed octopus, for example. Its body is covered in vibrant blue rings, and its venom is incredibly potent. A single bite is lethal, and one tiny octopus carries enough toxin to kill more than twenty adults.

’And this shrimp,’ she thought, ’is dazzlingly blue, intensely saturated, and even has a faint fluorescent glow. It looks incredibly dangerous!’

At that thought, Melody snatched her trembling hand back. She looked timidly at White and asked, "...White, what is this thing? Is it poisonous?"

Just then, a system notification suddenly sounded in Melody’s mind—

[Congratulations, Host. You have unlocked a new species: Blue Scale Prawn.]